Local organisation raises funds for local and national causes

The Chacombe Sports and Social Club, based just outside of Banbury, is a small organisation dedicated to bringing people together and making the community smile.

Our activities range from organising the village Christmas tree to hosting a huge bonfire and fireworks display in November. Last November we saw over 2,000 people visit us for an awesome firework display, with food stalls and entertainment. Donations collected at the gate enable us to run the following year.

Every December we also take Father Christmas out and about on his float to spread some festive cheer and raise money for charity. We spend 4 evenings in the surrounding villages collecting money for a national charity, then the fifth evening, Christmas eve, in our village raising money for a couple of local causes.

I’d like to say that all these events simply wouldn’t happen if it wasn’t for all our volunteers. From those who had an hour to spare to those who are involved in it all, there were over 30 volunteers for the Christmas float this year alone and their help is very much appreciated.

Last December, the money collected on the first four nights of Father Christmas’s rounds we collected for Diabetes UK. Paula Wilson from the charity was able to join us virtually at our presentation evening to tell us a bit more about what the charity does, and we were delighted to be able to hand over a cheque for £1,100 from our community to theirs.

On our final night with Father Christmas we collected for two local causes. Our local Volunteer Driving Service who does such incredible work in our Banburyshire area and Chacombe Primary School for a new library pod in the playground and we were pleased to present a cheque for £500 to each of them.

Finally, we took some time to celebrate the children who came out with us to collect this amazing sum. A big thank you to Logan, Isabella and Thea James, James Baker, Libby Shore, Hallie Smith, and Oliver Emerton, they were especially great at getting the donations rolling in, shaking their buckets loudly!

We also gave a special mention and a Young Volunteer of the Year award to Mason Washbourne, who not only came out a few nights with Father Christmas, but also helped with the Lunchbox Project delivering food parcels to individuals nominated by local schools. Well done Mason!

A final thanks goes to the George and Dragon pub, for kindly hosting us for our many meetings over the year but also for providing us with a delicious supper at the presentation evening.